


Home

by xxwhiterose



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Mention of Bumblebee, Ship, Whiterose, meet the parents, parent talk, prompt, secret relationship au, set around the start of v3, weiss realises shes gay, weiss stays with ruby on spring break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:54:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26533207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxwhiterose/pseuds/xxwhiterose
Summary: Ruby invites Weiss to stay at her Dad’s cabin in Patch for their Spring break. Weiss agrees she’ll go. Ruby’s already given her the plane ticket anyway, and not going would just be a waste of money and resources… Or at least that's what she told her father.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 10
Kudos: 103





	Home

**Author's Note:**

> Did this as a part of a challenge. Worry not! DQ will be updated shortly.
> 
> Also the end is kinda rushed. Apologies, lost motivation at the verrrrrrrry end ;;

Weiss took a heavy, grounding breath as Ruby skipped happily some feet ahead of her, leading her through the winding path of the woods towards the cabin where Ruby and Yang grew up. The tree’s around her were blooming with lucious green leaves, some of them even bearing fruits on their branches. Weiss could hear several different birds winging their own unique songs, like an orchestra hidden through the branches. The air was warm, but thin and easy.

It was so peaceful here.

Weiss was much more used to the toxic fumes and hard, stale air of Atlas. The city was a horrid experience, as was her Father’s mansion. The air was always so cold and sharp there, as if even the atmosphere itself was trying to grind you back down to the lower levels so it could rise above your ranking. The Schnee Manor was no different in that sense. Stale, mildly warm air was all that was seemingly allowed, as her father did not like the windows being opened in fear of a chill entering the house and lingering in his bones like some kind of ghost. Not that you could open the windows. Those were usually frozen shut.

She hadn’t been looking forward to returning to Atlas for her spring break this year, especially considering how there was a snow storm brewing in the Solitas mountains. If that were to hit while she was still there, the likelihood of Weiss getting to leave the Manor was slim to none. She didn’t know if she could stick a week in the house with her brother and her father. She’d lose any sense of sanity she’d managed to bring with her there.

That was why, when Ruby had approached her with the offer of joining her back to her father’s home in Patch, she’d jumped at the chance to go with her. Almost immediately after their brief conversation on the topic, Ruby had manifested a second ticket with Weiss’ name and details on it (which she had stolen from Weiss’ student credentials,  _ without  _ permission.) and excitedly told her to start packing. The ticket was scheduled for the next day at noon, much to Weiss’ frustration. She had planned on staying in Beacon awhile longer so that she could use the assets the Library offered for studying, but there was no chance of exchanging the tickets if the deadline was so close. She’d hurriedly called the Schnee Manor receptionist and informed her that she wouldn’t be back during the break in fear of the storm restricting her return. She’d hung up before the lady could even respond.

Ruby had almost chatted her ear off on the two hour flight across Vale, telling her about all her childhood adventures and chaos she would get up to around the Isle of Patch and pointing out every landmark as they flew across. Weiss had told her to shut up more than once, but it had fallen on deaf ears. Then they’d gotten a taxi until they were just out of the main civilian area and by a forest trail, which Ruby was leading them down.

“There it is!” Ruby perked up, pointing towards the end of the path. Weiss looked back from the trees she’d been admiring, finding a break in them just ahead where sunlight was bleeding through. Ruby took into a sprint, leaving Weiss behind in the dust as she rushed to get home. The heiress coughed, waving her hand around to try and dissipate some of the dust that relentlessly attacked her lungs.

“Ruby!” she coughed, jogging to keep up with her excited partner as the red disappeared between the trees. She quickly caught up, lifting a hand over her eyes as her sight readjusted to the blinding light that met her.

Weiss blinked away the harsh sunlight, looking around curiously, and albeit a bit desperately for her partner. She wasn’t fond of being alone in unfamiliar places, especially in someone else's home. 

Ruby’s cabin, though, was much bigger than Weiss had anticipated. She had been expecting something much smaller, maybe with a single floor, and two bedrooms, not a two story home made with what looked to be logs, with a garden that might even come close to the size of her Manor back home. There was a tree scattered here and there, each bearing its own type of fruit, and Weiss was pretty sure she could hear the buzzing of a beehive somewhere nearby. Great.

“Dad!” 

Weiss pinpointed Ruby’s voice to the front of the house, where she barreled into her poor Father, who looked like he’d been tending to flowers, and sent them both sprawling to the ground in a ball. Weiss instinctively flinched, bracing for her father to shout or a roar to get off of him, but nothing came. Instead, Mr Xiao Long lay on the grass, hugging his hyperactive daughter back.

“There’s my sweet rose petal!” He laughed, ruffling Ruby’s hair while Ruby clung to him like some kind of oversized sloth, “How are you? Flight go okay?”

“I’m great!” Ruby said back perkily, hopping off her Father and scrambling to her feet. She flexed her muscles in front of him, “Getting strong, eh?”

“Not as strong as I am! C’mere,” the scruffy man responded, getting to his feet and catching Ruby in a headlock. Weiss approached wearily, suddenly understanding where Yang got her ‘hands on’ form of affection. Ruby squealed in discomfort, using her semblance to free herself from her Dad’s wrath and behind Weiss in search of defence. Weiss stopped in her tracks, looking behind her as Ruby hid behind her legs in a crouch.

“Noo! Take Weiss instead!” she cried, earning a disapproving sigh from the Schnee. This was ridiculously childish. She expected it from Ruby, but from Taiyang Xiao Long? A member of the most prestigious team to leave Beacon? No, she was expecting someone with a little more sense.

“So this is the fabled Weiss, huh?” Taiyang asked. Weiss straightened her back, bowing politely as Ruby’s father got closer.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Xiao Long-” Weiss was cut short as the dirty, scraggly man pulled her into an abrupt hug, patting her on the back hearterly. Weiss' nose crinkled up at the smell of sweat coming from him. Personal space didn’t seem to be a thing either...

“A friend of my daughter is considered family to me!” He laughed, pulling away from Weiss while still holding her by the arms, “Please don’t call me Mr, it makes me sound old. Ruby told me all about you.”

“Did she now?” Weiss asked, glancing at Ruby who was nervously looking at her father and back at Weiss with a careful smile. Weiss returned a raised eyebrow, wanting an explanation later. She watched as Ruby gulped.

“All about her.. How’d you put it, Rubes? ‘ _ Amazingly awesome partner _ ’?” Ruby laughed awkwardly at her Dad’s comment, avoiding Weiss’ amused look. “I hope our small cabin is adequate for a Schnee such as yourself.”

“Daaad,” Ruby whined, pulling his arm off Weiss’, “Shut up, you’re embarrassing me!”

Taiyang’s eyes gleamed, “So you don’t want me to tell her about that letter you sent me la-”

“Dad!” Ruby shouted, pressing her hands over his mouth, “Stop!”

Weiss hummed in amusement, a smile on her face as Taiyang burst into a laugh. Ruby’s face was scarlet, pleading eyes telling her father to stop talking. The elder huntsmen laughed, slicking his hair back with his free hand.

“If you insist. Come on inside girls, I got some cool drinks waiting for both of you,” Taiyang said, finally giving Weiss her space back as he moved inside. Weiss took a deep breath, looking over to Ruby with a teasing grin.

“‘ _ Amazingly awesome partner’ _ , huh?”

“Oh my gods, I’m so embarrassed,” Ruby whined, covering her face with both her hands as she followed the memorised path back to the front door. Weiss chuckled softly, pacing alongside her partner.

“Well, I’m flattered you think of me so highly as to tell your father so much about me,” Weiss said, a cool breeze cooling off the back of her neck as it blew through the garden, “Though, I am curious as to what your father was alluring to before you shushed him.”

Ruby went another shade of red, darker then the one she’d had before, “U-uh, maybe later. I’m parched.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have run all the way here then,” Weiss mused. 

“I was excited!”

“My comment still stands.”

Ruby huffed as she stepped inside, taking off her boots with a kick and stacking them by the door so she could change into a pair of red flat shoes that sat on a rack. She slipped them on easily, before turning and pointing to the side of the staircase where a coat rack and another stand full of books and movies of every genre was.

“You can leave your stuff over there if you like! I’ll show you your room a little later.” Ruby chirped, hanging her cape up on the coat rack by the hood. Weiss nodded, carefully shuffling over and leaving her heavy suitcase and Myrtenaster by the first step of the stairs. She hadn’t brought much, just her weapon and a few changes of clothes, as well as the makeup she needed to cover her scar and hair products to manage her hair…  _ and  _ a few extra studying books to keep her occupied, and a few other bits and pieces like hair brushes, a few spare dust crystals...

So maybe she had overpacked a little. 

“Thank you, Ruby,” Weiss said, brushing her long ponytail back over her shoulders with a quick flick of her hand. Ruby grinned, before swiveling on the spot to look around the room. Weiss kept close to her, suddenly anxious about being in somebody else's home for free. The cabin felt warm, and welcoming. The inside was furnished softly, with plenty of room around the floor. It all had a very warm and cosy feeling to it, a stark, almost blinding contrast in comparison to her home in Atlas.

“Dad’s probably in the kitchen,” Ruby finally decided, gesturing to the door on the far side of the room. Weiss quickly noted the dog food bowls that sat half-empty at the bottom of it, courtesy of the missing Zwei, who was with Yang and Blake over in Menagerie. Weiss could imagine the sound of the corgis nails scraping across the furnished wood as he trotted around, his stubby tail wagging so hard that the rest of his body moved with it. “It’s really quiet without Zwei here,” Ruby continued.

“Yeah, it really is,” Weiss hummed, her attention still drifting around the room to photos hanging on the wall, each with pictures of Ruby and Yang as kids, or team STRQ, or even Taiyang and Summer. Weiss felt a twinge of sadness pull at her.

“Yang too. Her and Dad butt heads a lot,” Ruby said.

“‘Dad and her’,” Weiss corrected mindlessly, “But I understand what you mean. It’s quiet in the Manor as well, but for different reasons.”

“What reasons are they?” Ruby asked with a smile, swinging out of the kitchen door frame as she turned into the room. Weiss hummed quietly, shaking her head.

“I’d prefer not to get into it.”

Ruby hesitated then, glancing back at the heiress with calculating, but concerned eyes. Weiss tensed up. She wasn’t particularly fond of speaking of her relations with her family, especially to other people. It was her burden to shoulder alone, simply because there was nothing she could do to fix her broken family. Ruby knew little to none about her family, just like everyone else outside of it who didn’t already know their family name. 

The media made them out to be some perfect, money hungry family. Winter was second-in-command in the Atlesian Military, her Father was the head of the company, her Mother was a world renowned hunter who held the rarest collection of creatures money could buy. Weiss was just Weiss, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company who went to Beacon Academy for Skilled Huntsmen and Huntresses. She felt as if she was constantly being watched and studied while the media waited for her to slip up, all so they could use her to incriminate her father.

Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again as her Father moved into the room from the back kitchen holding two brightly colored drinks in either hand. He held them out to both of the girls. Weiss took hers curiously, her hands immediately cooling down to the icy temperature of the drink.

“Those are the Rose Xiao Long specialty,” Taiyang explained, placing his hands on his hips. Weiss listened as Ruby started into hers, sucking at the small pink straw that floated on top. “Ruby told me you liked blueberries.”

“I.. I see,” Weiss said, lifting the beverage to her lips and taking a sip. It was cold and sweet, but not sweet enough to allow Weiss to dislike it. It did in fact taste similar to blueberries, as well as an abundance of other fruits. It was quite delicious, Weiss admitted.

“Rubes, how about you go clean your room up a bit before you bring Weiss up to it?” Taiyang offered, to which Ruby’s eyes widened in realisation. She sucked up the last of her drink with a gasp, leaving the glass down in the sink hurriedly.

“I almost forgot! Thanks, Dad!” Ruby said urgently, disappearing in a tornado of scented rose petals. Weiss reached out and caught one as if floated beside her, rubbing the soft petal with her thumb. Taiyang was watching her carefully, almost like he was sizing her up. Weiss cleared her throat, placing the half-empty glass in her hands onto the wooden table beside her.

“Yes?”

“What’s your deal with my daughter?”

Weiss blinked in shock, surprised by the sudden change in demeanor from Ruby’s father. His tone had completely changed, now replaced with a serious and threatening one. Weiss furrowed her brows, “Excuse me?”

“What is your deal with my daughter? Why did you come here when you could be rolling in money in Atlas with your father?” Taiyang said, folding his arms over his chest to expose just how big his muscles were. Weiss’ gaze flickered to them for a moment, before back to the blonde haired man before her.

“She is my partner. I joined her simply because she’d already bought a ticket for me before even asking,” Weiss explained, mirroring Taiyangs stance. The man narrowed his eyes, huffing.

“ _ Just _ her partner?”

Weiss frowned. What was this man's problem with her? “Yes? If this is because you aren’t comfortable having a Schnee in your home, I can leave for Atlas in the morning.”

“I don’t really care about your heritage, Weiss,” Taiyang said, before nodding to the door where Ruby had escaped through moments earlier, “But I can tell you like her.”

“She  _ is  _ my friend-”

“I meant more than a friend. You love her, don’t you?”

A deep blush appeared across Weiss’ face in a rush of heat, her eyes widening to saucers. She stood back up straight, nostrils flaring, “Excuse you! I do not have any such feelings for Ruby!”

Taiyang chuckled, a smile crossing his face as he bared witness to Weiss’ flustered state, “Really? Why’d you get so red then?”

Weiss sighed heavily, looking away as she rubbed her temples. Seemed like insufferability also ran through this family. She knew she should’ve canceled her ticket here and returned to Atlas. At least then she’d have some privacy and dignity left. She could probably still take a flight tonight if she left now.

“I’m just teasing,” Taiyang called, catching Weiss’ shoulder with his hand. The ivory haired girl turned to face Tai again, an annoyed look on her face. He tightened his grip, getting onto one knee so he could meet the heiress’ gaze. “But listen, if you do have feelings for my daughter, please treat her right. She’s had a rough life so far, but she talks about you like you’re the light of her world.”

Weiss cocked a brow, “Somehow, I sincerely doubt that.”

“If you don’t believe me, ask her yourself,” Tai said with a smile, causing Weiss to second guess herself. He continued, “She loves you, Weiss. Just don’t let her down, okay?”

Weiss remained silent for a moment, thinking. It really wouldn’t be unlike Ruby to overexaggerate, but if her father was telling the truth, then what did Ruby really think about her? Weiss wouldn’t have thought much, considering the amount of times she yelled at, or ridiculed her for the simplest of things, but then Ruby had invited her over to stay with her for the Spring break, and Taiyang had miraculously known her favourite fruit.

Weiss' eyes drifted back to the door, to where Ruby had told her to leave her luggage. The white bags were gone, most likely hauled up the stairs by Ruby as she passed. What if Taiyang was right? What if Ruby liked her more than a friend…?

Gods, what would her father think? She could already hear him shouting blades at her about how women dating women is taboo, or unfit for a Schnee. If he knew, he’d probably tear her out of Beacon and send her to Atlas’ huntsmen school, where he could keep a closer eye on her, and where she’d never see Ruby again. The mere idea of that made her throat tighten and her heart throb.

“...Okay,” Weiss said finally, meeting Tai’s eyes and nodding hesitantly, “Okay.”

“Good,” he said, standing back up and opening the back door back to his gardens, “Ruby’s room is up the stairs and to the left. You won’t miss it.”

Weiss didn’t say anything more as Tai left her alone in the kitchen, closing the door behind him with a click. She lingered in the middle of the room where Tai had left her, her mind distracted as she tried to decipher all the thoughts that wandered freely around her head. She needed to talk to Ruby herself. Pondering on the ‘what-ifs’ and ‘maybes’ certainly wasn’t going to fix whatever situation she had just realised she was in.

Turning on her heel, Weiss quickly made her way back across the wide living room and up the stairs of the home, her eyes moving to the left side of the hall as Taiyang had instructed. One of the doors was cracked open, with posters of fairy tales and characters from one of the many comics Weiss had seen her read plastered against it. A smile tugged at her lips at the sight.

She walked up closer to the door, knocking on it twice softly, “Ruby, can I come in?”

Without warning, the door in front of her swung open fully, revealing Ruby behind it looking up at her. She had replaced her combat uniform with an old oversized grey hoodie that had the faded words ‘BEACON CROSS COUNTRY’ printed across it in white letters, the braided strings hanging from the front of it chewed flat. 

“I was just about to go and get you,” Ruby said, looking past Weiss and back down the stairs, “Where’s Dad?”

“Your father went back outside to tend to his garden,” Weiss answered curtly, a lump forming at the back of her throat. She cast her eyes into the room behind her partner instead, “May I come in?”

“Oh! Yeah, come on in,” Ruby said, standing out of the way so that Weiss could join her. Ruby’s room was nicely sized, small but not too big for her. Similarly to every room in the house, Ruby’s room was furnished with wooden shelves that were packed to the max with books, comics and Grimm figures. A window sat just by one of the two beds, with a tree growing just outside it.

Weiss found that her luggage had been left neatly at the end of the empty bed, alongside Myrtenaster’s case leaning against the footboard. She moved over to it, placing her hand against the surface of the case. 

“What'd ya think of my room?” Ruby asked, jumping heavily onto her own bed. Weiss listened in horror as the bed creaked and crunched beneath the smaller girl's sudden weight, as if expecting it to snap in half any moment.

“It’s.. unique,” Weiss said, looking around the posters and photos around the room, “It’s what I expected.”

“So.. you like it…?”

“I wouldn’t say I like it, but it’s got it’s own unique charm,” She smiled across at Ruby, “It definitely screams ‘Ruby’.”

“I think that’s...good? Is that a compliment?” Ruby asked herself, laying her back flat against her bed. She sighed in relief as her muscles relaxed, “Gods, I missed my bed.”

Weiss hummed quietly, sitting on the side of what she assumed to be her bed for the coming week. Her mind was still distracted by what Taiyang had said to her. Ruby perked her head up at the heiress’ lack of response..

“What’s up?”

“Nothing,” Weiss replied. Ruby frowned.

“ _ Weiss _ .”

Weiss flinched slightly, lifting her head to meet Ruby’s serious silver pools. She took a breath, straightening herself again, “What?”

“Something’s on your mind,” Ruby commented through narrowed eyes. She lifted her legs in the air, using the momentum to pull herself back up to sit on the side of her bed. She folded her legs in front of her, staring Weiss down. “Tell me, I won’t let anyone know.”

Weiss sighed, pulling out her scroll from her belt pouch, “Listen, I said I’m fine.”

“Weiss,” Ruby sighed, pulling herself off her bed and in front of the heiress. Ruby knew something was off with Weiss. She was her partner after all. “Is it Dad? He can be a bit much at times, but I can tell him to lay off you if you need me to.”

“No, your father is fine,” Weiss took a breath, meeting Ruby’s eyes again, “What did you tell him about me, Ruby? What did you say  _ exactly _ ?”

Ruby blinked in surprise, taken aback by such a strange question, “A-ah- Well… Why do you want to know?”

Weiss tensed, “Your father… said some things to me.”

“What did he say?”

Weiss fell silent, her eyes averting away again. Ruby shuffled closer, dropping to her knees on the floor just before the ivory haired girl. She placed her hands on Weiss’ knees before resting her head on them, eliciting a hot blush from the Schnee; but, she didn’t kick Ruby off.

“He..” Weiss sighed, a wave of embarrassment hitting her like a train, “He said you loved me. More than friends do.”

Ruby fell silent, her face turning as red as her cape as she registered what Weiss had said. She hummed in thought, pressing her lips to her hands that still rested on Weiss’ legs, “He did, huh?”

“Was he… I-Is he right?” Weiss asked nervously. 

Ruby bit her lip, sitting back from Weiss’ lap so the girl opposite her could see her fully. The room grew thick with anticipation, butterflies blooming in Ruby’s stomach as she searched for the right words.

“So he was,” Weiss concluded, looking away from Ruby with sad eyes, “Ruby you know I can’t-”

“Because of your father?” Ruby asked, cutting Weiss off before she could finish. Weiss opened her mouth to say something back, so she could deny it and say she wasn’t interested, but if she was being honest to herself, there wasn’t  _ nothing  _ there. Weiss had felt herself growing closer to Ruby in the past few months, but recently she’d been regarding her as something even closer. She’d originally just thought it was a ‘best friend’ status, but maybe it  _ was  _ something more than that.

“He’d disown me,” Weiss said sadly, “I’d never see you again, or any of team RWBY if he found out I was dating another woman.”

“Then we don’t tell him.”

“I’m sorry?”

“We’ll keep it a secret! Just between us,” Ruby suggested, jumping onto her feet and taking hold of Weiss’ hands in her warm ones, “Nobody has to know. Not even Yang or Blake.”

“He’d find out eventually, Ruby,” Weiss said, relaxing as she felt Ruby trace her thumb across the back of her hand. She couldn’t live without Ruby, or Yang or Blake, or even team JNPR. Weiss considered them all family now, perhaps even more than her actual one now. “I don’t want to risk it.”

“We can deal with that when it comes up then,” Ruby hummed, “I do love you, Weiss. I love you a lot. More than Crescent Rose even!”

Weiss huffed, a smile on her face, “Wow, thanks.”

“And I  _ love  _ your smile! You really need to do it more often, y’know,” Ruby continued, sitting alongside Weiss as she began to blush. Ruby tightened her grip on Weiss’ hands, bringing them together by her heart. “I love you, and I don’t care what your crummy Father thinks. You shouldn’t either. So what if he disowns you? If he does, you can live with Yang, Dad, Zwei and me!”

Weiss laughed, “That would be so awkward.”

“But it’d be fun, right?” 

“That remains to be seen,” Weiss said, poking Ruby playfully in the ribs. The brunette squeaked in surprise, curling to the side to avoid being poked there again. 

Perhaps trying this little crush of hers on for size wouldn’t be such a terrible idea after all. She wouldn’t be seeing her Father for who knows how long, and as long as Ruby kept her promise to keep it secret, there was little chance he’d catch wind of it. 

“Alright.”

“You’ll date me?!”

“Yes, you dunce,” Weiss snapped, rolling her eyes, “As long as you keep it a  _ secret _ ! Should anyone find out, it’s to be like it never existed, got it?”

“Yes!” Ruby cried excitedly, squirming on the spot. Weiss narrowed her eyes at her.

“You’re doing a terrible job already.”

“Sorry!”


End file.
